


It Was An Accident

by zellieh



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Accidental Sex, Angst and Humor, Comedy, Crack, Early in Canon, First Time, Humor, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Magic, Magic Revealed, Master & Servant, POV Male Character, POV Minor Character, POV Third Person, Season/Series 01, Sex Magic, Wordcount: 1.000-3.000
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-26
Updated: 2009-05-26
Packaged: 2017-11-08 09:49:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,646
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/441902
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zellieh/pseuds/zellieh
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin burst into Gaius' workroom, flushed and panting for breath, careening to a stop at the workbench. "He knows!"</p>
            </blockquote>





	It Was An Accident

**Author's Note:**

> Written early in Season 1, before canon turned darker and before characters' relationships became quite such a mess. Probably counts as a bit Alternate Universe and Out Of Character now.
> 
> This one line came to me – read the story, and you'll know which line it was – and insisted that the I write a short snippet of story around it, so here it is.

Merlin burst into Gaius' workroom, flushed and panting for breath, careening to a stop at the workbench. "He knows! He found out about me and my magic, he-"

"Who?" said Gaius, alarmed. "Who knows?!"

"Arthur!" cried Merlin. "I was in his rooms, cleaning his armour, and he wasn't supposed to be back for hours, but then he just walked in! Without knocking!" babbled Merlin, sounding scandalised that anyone could be so rude as to walk into their own rooms without knocking first to alert their servants.

Even in extremis, Gaius couldn't help but stifle a smile at the boy's impudence.

"And the armour was-" Merlin waved his hand up and down in the air, frantically, "-and I was-" he waved his other hand in a sort of lazy vertical gesture, as if he were smoothing the sheets on a bed, "-on the other side of the room!" Merlin paused for breath, wide-eyed and trembling.

"What have I told you about using your magic, Merlin?" said Gaius, scolding by rote, trying not to show his own fear even as he patted the boy soothingly on the back. "Well, what did he-"

"Merlin!" shouted Arthur, as he slammed the door to Gaius' workroom open, sending it bouncing off the wall and setting all the jars to rattling. Merlin paled, and whirled to face the attack.

"Merlin!" shouted Arthur again, striding into the room, vibrating with anger. "How dare you run away from me?! I am your prince, you are my servant, and you will damn well do as I say, is that clear?!"

"I can explain everything, sire," said Gaius, in his best soothing voice, trying frantically to think up an explanation for armour that cleaned itself in mid-air. _Static electricity?_ he thought, desperately. _Lightning? No, no. Extremely localised earthquake? Hmm, possible. High winds, perhaps? Or, no. Hallucinations!_ "Tell me, your Highness, how have you been feeling lately? A little feverish, perhaps?"

Arthur gave Gaius a fierce _shut-up-now_ look, and then ignored him completely, glaring at Merlin instead. Gaius bowed reluctantly, and backed off a couple of steps, even more reluctantly, watching Arthur carefully.

Arthur advanced on Merlin, his hands coming up, his fingers grasping, clasping and unclasping as if he'd like to have his hands on his sword, or Merlin's neck. Merlin promptly tried to hide behind Gaius, but Arthur caught him before he could flee, dragging him closer, apparently so that he could shout at him more easily.

Holding Merlin firmly by the biceps, Arthur dragged his manservant in until they were almost nose-to-nose, glaring at him like a hawk focussed on a rabbit. "You will explain to me what happened, and you will explain it now! _And you will not lie to me,_ " Arthur said, in a deadly quiet voice.

Leaning as far back as he could, Merlin stared at Arthur, almost hyperventilating as he said, "I'm sorry!"

"You're some kind of magic user," said Arthur in a voice full of inexorable certainty, as he leaned forward to keep himself nose-to-nose with Merlin.

 _Damn. That's not a question, that's a statement of fact,_ Gaius noted, giving up on fooling Arthur and starting to run through all his escape plans in his mind instead.

Merlin tried to look away, to look down, to wriggle free, but Arthur wouldn't let him go, shaking him when he stayed silent.

"Answer me!" Arthur demanded, shaking Merlin harder, almost lifting his feet off the floor.

"Yes! Yes, I use magic, I am magic, I'm sorry!"

Arthur let Merlin go at that, and Merlin staggered as his feet touched the ground again. Taking a step back, the prince folded his arms forbiddingly across his chest. "And this afternoon, in my rooms, you were cleaning my armour, weren't you. With magic."

Merlin looked up at Arthur from under his fringe. "Um. Yes?" he said, biting his lip.

"And when I walked in, you attacked me with my own armour," said Arthur, bleakly.

"What? NO!" said Merlin, holding out a pleading hand to Arthur. "No, Arthur, sire, please believe me – I didn't attack you, I just," he stopped, rubbing his hand across the nape of his neck, blushing, "I dropped it, alright? You startled me, and I lost control of my, my magic, and it-" Merlin stopped, waving his hand helplessly in the air, as if he were throwing dice.

"Mm," said Arthur, eyeing Merlin consideringly.

Gaius started to feel hopeful again. _Yes, yes, Arthur -- look at the boy, he looks about as dangerous as a wet kitten. He's harmless, it was an accident, he trips over his own feet all the time, you know he'd never hurt you, look at him._

Arthur took another step back from Merlin, tightening his arms across his chest. "And after that, when you-" Arthur paused for a moment, still looking Merlin in the eye, and Merlin flinched as if he was about to take a blow. "When you ... attacked me with your, your magic," Arthur continued, sounding uncomfortable, "how do you explain that?"

Stepping forward, Merlin poked a finger into Arthur's chest. "I wasn't attacking you, you idiot! I was trying to heal you after the armour attacked, um, fell on you!"

Arthur stared pointedly down at the finger poking him in the chest, and then raised his eyes to stare equally pointedly at Merlin, who gulped, and stepped hastily back.

"Er, um, that is, Your Highness, I-"

"Yes?" said Arthur, silkily.

Merlin gathered himself together and said, in a small voice, "I'm sorry, Your Highness. I was just trying to make you feel better."

"'Trying to make me feel better,'" Arthur repeated, raising a sceptical eyebrow.

Merlin blushed again, shuffling his feet and twisting his fingers together as if he was trying to braid them.

"Well then, congratulations are in order, because you certainly succeeded in 'making me feel better.'" Arthur hissed, low-voiced. "Only imagine my astonishment at having magic used on me – and by my own manservant, no less – in my rooms, in the middle of Camelot!" Arthur said, scowling at Merlin. "Tell me, how many others know what you can do with your, your magic?"

"Hardly anyone knows! I've been careful," Merlin protested. Both Gaius and Arthur looked sceptical at that. Merlin scowled at both of them. "I have!"

Arthur looked relieved at that, and Gaius started to feel cautiously hopeful. Maybe Arthur wouldn't turn both of them straight over to Uther to be executed. The boy was angry, but he no longer looked like he wanted to kill Merlin.

"And how many of those who know have you--" Arthur waved a hand in what was presumable meant to be a vaguely magical gesture, which looked a lot like grabbing someone by the neck and throttling them "--have you healed with your magic?" asked Arthur as he leaned toward Merlin, looking predatory and threatening.

Merlin leaned back, looking alarmed. "No-one! You're the only, um, I mean, you're the first, I mean, I don't, er, I didn't mean to," stammered Merlin, his face almost as red as Arthur's cape.

"So it was all a mistake?" asked Arthur.

"Not exactly." Merlin took a deep breath and stood straighter, looking Arthur in the eye. "I did want to make you feel better, but I didn't know what my magic was going to do to you! I told you, you startled me, and I lost control of my magic. It was an accident!"

"An accident, eh?" said Arthur, scornfully, taking another step closer to Merlin and poking him in the chest with his finger. "What happened, did your magic trip over and _accidentally fall onto my cock?!"_

"Er," said Merlin, blushing even more furiously as he caught the suddenly-appalled look on Gaius' face. "I can explain...."

 _I wonder if it's possible to rupture the capillaries on your face if you blush too hard?_ wondered Gaius absently, as he looked from Merlin to Arthur and back again, little details shuffling around into entirely new patterns in his mind. _Well,_ he thought, _looks like Merlin won't be marrying Gwen and giving me grandchildren to coo over any time soon. Or, indeed, ever. But on the bright side, it's highly unlikely that Arthur will ever tell Uther about Merlin's magic._

Merlin continued to stand there silently, his mouth opening and closing spasmodically but no words escaping, blushing at Arthur like a particularly red-faced statue. Arthur continued to stare at Merlin, breathing hard, focussing on him almost – but not quite – exactly the way he'd focus on an enemy before a fight.

"Well," Gaius said aloud, rapidly gathering together his basket, his sun hat, and a list of ingredients he needed from the forest. "I'll just be, um. In the forest. Somewhere. Deep in the forest, far away. If you need me. _Which you won't,_ " Gaius said to Merlin sternly, even as the boy opened his mouth to protest.

Merlin shot him a betrayed look. Arthur smiled at Merlin, predatorily, and took a single step closer, his body tense yet loose, ready to pounce.

Gaius ignored Merlin with the ease of long practice, bowing to Arthur whilst trying not to meet the Prince's eyes, and then sailed out of the door, shutting it behind him as quickly as he could. He heard Merlin squeak, and his workbench creaked the way it would whenever he lifted something heavy onto it. Gaius started humming loudly to himself as he locked the door to his workroom, hanging up the 'Working! Do Not Disturb!' sign carefully.

 _Sex magic,_ he thought. _Accidental sex magic._ His mind was still reeling from the shock. _Only Merlin,_ he thought ruefully, smiling, and then had to stifle a snicker as he imagined the look that finding out about Merlin's magic like _that_ would have put on Arthur's face. _Oh, Merlin!_ Shaking his head, and whistling a cheerful tune, Gaius headed out to the forest, his basket swinging merrily at his side.

**Author's Note:**

> I bet most of you knew the line that started this when you saw it! 
> 
> It was: "An accident, eh?" said Arthur, scornfully, taking another step closer to Merlin and poking him in the chest with his finger. "What happened, did your magic trip over and _accidentally fall onto my cock?!"_


End file.
